To say the Red Sox came out of the 2018 World Series unscathed would be wrong.
In fact, the Red Sox entered the Spring Training of 2018 with question marks surrounding the health of three starting pitchers: David Price, Drew Pomeranz, and Eduardo Rodriguez. They also had question marks regarding the offseason shoulder surgery that Hanley Ramirez had.
While all of that was going on, they all seemed to fly under the radar because of one player. A particular 5-foot-9 second baseman that has become well-known to Red Sox fans and media alike as a well-respected player, and an even more respectable person.
Dustin Pedroia. The now 35-year-old out of Arizona State appeared in just three games in 2018. In those three games, he was 1-11 at the plate, an abysmal .091 batting average, walking just twice. 13 plate appearances, scored just one run, before being ultimately shut down for the season as his left knee flared back up on him.
Before going further, it would be of the wiser to remind people of the injury that has ultimately led to the demise of Dustin Pedroia. The date was April 21, 2017. The opponent? The Baltimore Orioles. The culprit? Manny Machado.
Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo hits a weak ground ball to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop and with no intention of turning a double play, he fires over to Dustin Pedroia at second base for the force out. The aforementioned Machado slides late into second, perhaps not expecting the throw to go there, and ultimately spikes Pedroia in his left knee.
Whether dirty or not, that doesn’t change the fact it happened. Pedroia had played in 16 games at that point. He played in 89 more in a regular season that featured multiple stints on the disabled list. Pedroia finished the season slashing .293/.369/.392 with seven home runs and 62 runs batted in, and was visibly laboring out there each and every night he was in the lineup.
That can be most evidently depicted in his final at-bat in 2017, which fittingly ended the 2017 postseason run for the Red Sox. Pedroia hit a weak ground ball to second base and didn’t even make close to an effort to get to first base. He was toast, and so were the Red Sox.
Fast forward back to the present day. Pedroia reported to Fort Myers on Thursday and is already working towards making a run at that AL Comeback Player of the Year award that is coveted by aging veterans who come back from injuries.
The overall consensus? He looks pretty good.
Dustin Pedroia taking some hacks. #redsox #SpringTraining2019 pic.twitter.com/3YVAGEeGvR
— Adam Pellerin (@adampellerin) February 14, 2019
Will there be a lot of Dustin Pedroia video feed in your timeline today? Yes. Yes there will. pic.twitter.com/NOosWFpkwv
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 14, 2019
However, for Red Sox fans, 2019 can be an even more trying year than 2018 was. At least in 2018, fans could look at the 2017 injury and say that he’s certainly dedicated to coming back and helping this team. Perhaps a little too dedicated, but dedicated nonetheless.
Regardless, Pedroia is set to begin the season at age 35 and has played just 108 games over the previous two seasons –– including just three games last season. Not to mention he hasn’t been an All-Star since 2013. To expect Pedroia to return to form completely just wouldn’t be realistic.
According to Baseball Reference, the California native is projected to slash .280/.347/.396 with five home runs and 28 RBI in just 253 plate appearances. All in all, it feels like a fair projection for Pedroia. In fact, to expect anything more to this point just seems unrealistic.
With that in mind, if anybody on the Red Sox is capable of enduring a season in which he played only three games and wind up being a crucial part of a title contender, Pedroia would be the guy to do so. That being said, don’t set yourself up for disappointment. He’ll be 36 in August, not 26. Bodies don’t typically recover back to 100% right away after missing all but three games.
It could happen, it just doesn’t seem smart to
